Rex Ryan: Dee Milliner will be best rookie corner before season is over

Posted by Josh Alper on October 31, 2013, 7:04 AM EDT

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When the Jets selected cornerback Dee Milliner with the ninth overall pick of the 2013 Draft, the expectation was that he would be the best rookie cornerback in the league at the very least.

Through half a season, the very least has been a pretty good title for a book about Milliner’s accomplishments. He’s been benched twice, missed games with injuries and has generally looked like a player with his head underwater. He was strafed by the Bengals last weekend before getting pulled from the game, but Milliner’s coach believes that the second half will play out very differently.

“I will say this, by the time this season’s over, I think he will be the best rookie corner and playing better than any rookie corner in this year’s draft,” Ryan said, via the New York Daily News. “I don’t think there’s any doubt.”

Ryan also said that he feels confidence is crucial for cornerbacks, which makes it easy to understand why he’d say that about a player he’s found it necessary to bench for both physical and mental errors so far this season. We’ll see how that plays out in this week’s game against the Saints, because it’s a pretty good bet that Drew Brees has noticed Milliner’s foibles on tape and will be trying to exploit them should the rookie find his way on the field this Sunday.

D.J. Heyden is the best corner out the draft. More physical and a better cover corner then Millner from start of season till end and will continue to be so till the end of season through out his whole carreer.

kenstabler says:Oct 31, 2013 8:36 AM

D.J. Hayden looks like the much better pick then Milliner. Teams are not even targeting Hayden anymore like they are Milliner. He might just be a bust, admit it.

DJ Hayden is the best rookie corner from this year’s draft. He’s only going to get better as the season progresses and sees more reps. And then next year with a full training camp (he missed all of this years due to his scar tissue surgery) should make him that much better.